President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Philippines has become a “victim” of its own success amid the shortage of healthcare workers, many of whom went abroad in search for better paying jobs.
Marcos made the remark during a meeting with members of the Business Executives for National Security (BENS) in Malacañang, which tackled US investments in the Philippines’ health, digital infrastructure and energy programs.
“Unfortunately, in terms of health care workers, we have become victims of our own success in that the Filipinos did really well during the pandemic. And so every leader I meet says ‘can we have more Filipino med techs, doctors and nurses?’ So we’re having a shortage here,” Marcos said.
“So we are trying to find schemes so as to alleviate that problem. One of the things our Department of Health (DOH) has come up with is that we are coming to an arrangement with countries who will accept Filipino health care workers to at the same time train the equivalent number of health care workers that will stay in the Philippines,” he added.
The president said the Department of Health (DOH) is addressing the shortage. It is working out a deal with other countries that will accept Filipino healthcare workers and “at the same time train the equivalent number of healthcare workers that will stay in the Philippines.”
He also said the government plans to accelerate the board exam to produce more nurses.
Last June, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa announced the DOH’s plan to hire nursing graduates who scored at least 70 to 74 percent in the board exam. The passing grade is 75 percent.
“So that's the adjustment that we are trying to make. So it's not only in the facilities, it's also in the training. We are very proud of them but we wish they'd stay home,” Marcos said.
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